Spicy Stuffed Cabbage

I tried making cabbage rolls for the first time, and it turns out cabbage is a really delicious wrapper! This recipe comes from "Nourishing Traditions; The cookbook that challenges politically correct nutrition and the diet dictocrats." It has been interesting to read - she advocates for good fat consumption (butter, whole milk, animal fat) and meat products; ferments tons of stuff; and has good recipes with non-sugar sweeteners. This recipe turned out to be less spicy - it was good, but a little bland. My dinner guests and I thought stuffing the cabbage leaves with a kraut/sausage/brown rice/potato mix sounded better. Really, you could come up with any assortment of fillings and just use this cooking method, which worked great.

Serves 6
1 large cabbage
1 pound ground red meat or turkey
2 T olive oil
2 med. onions, peeled and finely chopped
2 c. cooked brown rice
1/2 c, raisins
1/4 c. fresh dill, chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and mashed
2 t ground cumin
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/8 t. ground cloves
sea salt and pepper
1/4 c. pine nuts
1 egg. lightly beaten
4 c. beef or chicken stock
2 tomatoes, peeled & chopped (I used canned)
2 T arrowroot mixed with 2 T water (I used cornstarch)

Remove core from cabbage and set, cored side down, in a large pot with about 2 inches of boiling water. Cover and steam about 15 minutes. Remove wilted outer leavers and steam a bit longer to soften inner leaves. Strew leaves on a tea towel to drain and set aside.

In a heavy skillet, brown meat in loive oil until crumbly. Add onion, raisins, rice, pine nuts, herbs and spices. Season to taste. Let cool slightly and stir in the egg. Place a spoonful of stuffing on each cabbage leaf, fold in sides and roll up. Arrange in several layers in a flameproof casserole and cover with stock and tomato pieces. Bring to a boil and transfer to the oven. Bake at 300 degrees about 1 hour.

Use tongs to remove cabbage rolls to a platter and keep warm in oven. Return the casserole and its liquid to the stove. Bring to a boil and cook vigorously about 15 minutes, skimming occasionally until stock has reduced. (*Mine was already reduced, so I did not cook it down.) Add arrowroot mixture, spoonful by spoonful, until desired thickness is obtained. To serve, place two or three cabbage rolls on each plate and spoon on sauce.